Current Grad Students: A–F

Email: fabe@ku.edu

Website:  http://people.ku.edu/~fabe/

Advisors: Edward O. Wiley III and Bruce Lieberman

Education: Current Ph.D. candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology; B.S. in biology from Bates College

Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Research Interests: Macroevolutionary patterns in rates of evolution, biogeography, and morphology of Devonian trilobites

Recent Publications:

• Abe, F.R., B.S. Lieberman. 2009. The nature of evolutionary radiations: A case study involving Devonian trilobites. Evolutionary Biology, 36(2), 225-234.
• Luttrell, G.R., F.R. Abe, M.P. Davis, and K.R. Anderson. 2007. Recent collections of the slenderhead darter, Percina phoxocephala (Nelson), from the Kansas River Basin. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 110: 127–128.

Recent Presentations:

• Abe, F. 2007. Investigating evolutionary radiations using morphometrics, biogeography, and speciation rates: A case study involving Devonian trilobites; Annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, Denver, CO, October.
• Abe, F. 2006. Morphological investigation of a putative hybrid zone between Moxostoma macrolepidotum and Moxostoma pisolabrum (Cypriniformes: Catostomidae) in the Kansas River Basin; Annual meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Tampa, FL, July. (Poster

Email: blyalex@ku.edu

Advisor: Rudolf Jander

Education: Current Ph.D. candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology; M.S. in biology from Case Western Reserve University; B.S. in zoology from the University of Maryland—College Park

Hometown: Ellicott City, MD

Research Interests: Animal behavior

Dissertation Research: Home range orientation in the house mouse

Recent Publications:

• Ridgel, A.L., Alexander, B.E., Ritzmann, R.E. 2007. Descending control of turning behavior in the cockroach, Blaberus discoidalis. Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology 193(4):385-402.

Email: mja43@ku.edu

Advisor: Robert Moyle

Education: Current Ph.D. aspirant in ecology and evolutionary biology; B.S. in natural resources from Cornell University

Hometown: Baldwin, NY

Research Interests: Speciation, diversification, phylogenetics, and biogeography of Neotropical birds. Evolution of vocalizations in birds.

Recent Publications:

• Lebbin, D. J., Hosner, P. A., Andersen, M. J., Valdez, U., and Tori, W. P. In review. First description of the nest and eggs of the White-lined Antbird (Percnostola lophotes) and breeding observations of poorly known birds inhabiting Guadua bamboo in Southeastern Peru.
• Tobias, J. A., Lebbin, D. J., Aleixo, A., Andersen, M. J., Guilherme E., Hosner, P. A., N. and Seddon. (in press). Distribution, behavior, and conservation status of the Rufous Twistwing (Cnipodectes superrufus). Wilson Journal of Ornithology.
• Andersen, M. J., Lebbin, D. J., and P. H. Hosner. 2007. First photographic evidence of Veery (Catharus fuscescens) for Peru. Boletín SAO 17(1):36-38.
• Lebbin, D. J., Harvey, M. G., Lenz, T. C., Andersen, M. J., & J. M. Ellis. 2007. Mixed-species flock of fall migrant birds foraging at night by artificial light. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 119(3):502-506.

Advisor: Rafe Brown

Education: Current Ph.D. aspirant in ecology and evolutionary biology; B.S. in biological science from California State University, Sacramento.

Hometown: Pinole, CA

Research interests: Adaptive radiations, phylogenetics and evolution of reptiles and amphibians

Recent Presentations:

• Barley, AJ, PQ Spinks, RC Thomson, and HB Shaffer. 2009. Using multiple nuclear loci to infer higher level systematic relationships in turtles. Annual Evolution meeting, Moscow, ID.
• Barley, AJ and RM Coleman. 2009. Habitat structure directly affects aggression in convict cichlids, Archocentrus nigrofasciatus. CSU statewide research competition, 2nd place, undergraduate biological science.

Email: narayani@ku.edu

Advisor: A. Townsend Peterson

Education: Current Ph.D. aspirant in ecology and evolutionary biology; M.S. in computer science form the University of Pune, India; B.S. in computer science from the University of Pune, India

Hometown: Bangalore, India

Research Interests: Ecological niche modeling, biodiversity informatics, remote sensing, GIS

Recent Publications:

• A. T. Peterson, N. Barve, L. Mauricio Binib, J. A. Diniz-Filhob, A. Jiménez-Valverde, A. Lira-Noriega, ** J. Lobo, S. Maher, P. de Marco, Jr., E. Martínez-Meyer, Y. Nakazawa and J. Soberón. 2009. The climate envelope may not be empty. PNAS, vol. 106, no. 16, E47.
• SavitaS., Narayani Barve, Priya Davidar, Response of ants to disturbance gradients in and around Bangalore, India,  Tropical Ecology 49(2): 235-243, 2008.
• N. Lyngdoh, S.H. Santosh, B.T. Ramesha, M. Nageswara Rao, G. Ravikanth, N. Barve, K. N. Ganeshaiah, R. Uma Shananker. 2005. Rattan species richness and population genetic structure of Calamus flagellum in North-Eastern Himalaya, India. J. Bamboo and Rattan 4(3): 293-307.

Email: danben@ku.edu

Advisor: Michael Engel

Education: Current Ph.D. candidate in entomology; M.A. in entomology from the University of Kansas B.S. in zoology from the University of Washington.

Hometown: Ephrata, WA

Research Interests: Systematics and behavior of bees and wasps

Current Research: Phylogeny and behavior of the moustache wasps (Crabronidae: Crabronina)

Recent Publications:

• Engel, M.S. and D.J. Bennett. 2008. Anoblepsis, a New, Bizarre Braconid Wasp Genus in Dominican Amber (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 81(4): 368-372.
• Bennett, D.J. 2008. The ophionine wasps of Hawaii (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 17(1): 1–43.
• Bennett, D.J. & Engel, M.S. 2006. A new moustache wasp in Dominican amber, with an account of apoid wasp evolution emphasizing Crabroninae (Hymenoptera: Crabonidae). American Museum Novitates 3529: 1-10.
• Bennet, D.J., and Engel, M.S.. 2005. A primitive sapygid wasp in Burmese amber (Hymenoptera: Sapygidae). Acta zoological cracoviensia 48B (1-2): 1-9.

Recent Presentations:

• Bennett, D.J. 2006. Diversity and evolution of Hawaiian ophionine wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae); International Society of Hymenopterists Congress, Sun City, South Africa, January.

Email: bentlage@ku.edu

Advisor: Paulyn Cartwright

Education: Current Ph.D. candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology; M.S. in zoology from the University of Hannover, Germany; Pre-degree in biology from the University of Kiel, Germany.

Hometown: Born in Bielefeld, Germany but grew up in a small village called Horn-Bad Meinberg. Since then has lived and studied at various places and institutions in Germany, Australia and the US.

Research Interests: Patterns and processes governing ocean biogeography; current study system of choice are jellyfishes, in particular the coastal shelf inhabiting box-jellyfishes (Cubozoa) and the open-ocean medusae of Trachylina (Hydrozoa); phylogenetic analyses; GIS based modeling methods; taxonomy of study animals

Recent Publications:

• Bentlage, B., Cartwright, P., Yanagihara, A.A., Lewis C., Richards, G.S., and Collins A.G. In review. Evolution of box jellyfishes (Cnidaria: Cubozoa), a group of highly toxic invertebrates.
• Bentlage, B., Peterson, A.T., and Cartwright, P. 2009. Inferring distributions of chirodropid box-jellyfishes (Cnidaria: Cubozoa) in geographic and ecological space using ecological niche modeling. Marine Ecology Progress Series 384: 121-133.
• Lewis, C. and Bentlage B. 2009. Clarifying the identity o the Japanese Habu-kurage, Chironex yamaguchii, sp. nov. (Cnidaria: Cubozoa: Chirodropida). Zootaxa 2030: 59-65.
• Collins, A.G., Bentlage, B., Lindner, A., Lindsay, D., Haddock, S.H.D., Jarms, G., Norenburg, J.L., Jankowski, T., and Cartwright, P. 2008. Phylogenetics of Trachylina (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) with new insights on the evolution of some problematical taxa. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 88: 1673-1685.
• Bentlage, B. and Wörheide, G. 2007. Low genetic structuring among Pericharax heteroraphis (Porifera: Calcarea) populations from the Great Barrier Reef (Australia), revealed by analysis of nrDNA and nuclear intron sequences. Coral Reefs 26: 807-816.
• Collins, A.G., Bentlage, B., Matsumoto, G.I., Haddock, S.H.D., Osborn, K.J., Schierwater, B. 2006. Solution to the phylogenetic enigma of Tetraplatia, a worm-shaped cnidarian. Biology Letters 2:120-124.

Recent Presentations:

• Bentlage B., Peterson A.T., Li X., Collins A.G., and Cartwright P. 2009. Biogeography of open ocean jellyfishes: integrating ecological niche modeling and phylogeography in a 3D environment; Invited presentation, Bioclimatic and niche-based models of species distributions: now and in the future, INTECOL 10, Brisbane, Australia.
• Bentlage B., Cartwright P., Collins A.G. 2009. Diversity and phylogenetic systematics of box jellyfishes (Cnidaria: Cubozoa), a group of highly toxic invertebrates; The ninth NEFSC Science Symposium, Leading the way: Advances in Fisheries Research in the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Newport, RI.
• Bentlage, B., Collins, A.G., and Cartwright, P. 2008. Phylogenetics of Cubozoa and a progress report on marine niche modeling; Third Annual Cnidarian Tree of Life Meeting, La Paz, Mexico.
• Bentlage, B., Collins, A.G., and Cartwright, P. 2008. Phylogenetics and environmental space occupation of box-jellyfishes (Cnidaria: Cubozoa); Evolution, Minneapolis, MN, June.
• Bentlage, B. 2007. Conservatism of ecological niches in Cubozoa; Second Annual Cnidarian Tree of Life Workshop and Student-Postdoc Symposium, Cnidarian Phylogenetics and Evolution, St. John, USVI.
• Bentlage, B., Collins, A.G., Cartwright, P. 2007. Prospects of molecular systematics for Cubozoa; Second International Jellyfish Blooms Symposium, Gold Coast, AUS, June. (Poster)
• Collins, A.G., Bentlage, B., Haddock, S.H.D., Jankowski, T., Lindsay, D.J., Pagès, F., and Cartwright, P. 2007. Phylogenetics of Trachylina; Sixth Workshop of the Hydrozoan Society, Plymouth, UK, June.
• Bentlage, B. 2007. Ecological niche conservatism in box-jellyfishes; Second International Jellyfish Blooms Symposium, Diversity: from Adenine to Zoogeography, Gold Coast, AUS, June.
• Bentlage, B., and Wörheide, G. 2007. Phylogeography of Pericharax heteroraphis (Porifera) from the Great Barrier Reef; Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Biogeography and Phylogenetics, Phoenix, AZ, January.

Recent Awards:

• Smithsonian Institution Predoctoral Fellowship, “Biogeography of Open Ocean Jellyfishes”, 2009-2010 ($31,000)
• NSF Doctoral Dissertation Grant DEB 0910237, “Biogeography of Open Ocean Hydrozans (Cnidaria: Medusozoa)”, 2009-2011 ($14,990)
• PADI Foundation, "An Integrative Approach to Understanding Species' Distributions and Relationships of Australiasian Box-Jellyfishes (Cubozoa; Cnidaria)", 2007 ($5,970)
• Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Support to attend the "Evolution 2008" meeting, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN, 2008 ($300)
• Ohio State University and the Willi Hennig Society, Fellowship to attend the "North American Workshop in Cladistic Methods", Columbus OH, 2007 ($700)
• Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and KU Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Research Center, Support to attend the 2^nd Cnidarian Tree of Life Workshop and Student-Postdoc Symposium, Cnidarian Phylogenetics and Evolution, St. John, USVI, 2007 ($ 400

Email: bwbenz@ku.edu

Advisor: A. Townsend Peterson

Education: Current Ph.D. candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology; B.S. in biodiversity, ecology, and evolutionary biology from the University of Kansas.

Research Interests: Comparative phylogeography of montane New Guinea birds

Recent Publications:

• Robbins, M. B., Nyari, A. S., Papes, M., and Benz, B. W. 2009. Song rates, mating status, and territory size of Cerulean Warblers in Missouri Ozark riparian forest. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 121 (2): 283-289.
• Nyari, A. S., Benz, B. W., Jonsson, K. A., Fjeldsa, J., and Moyle, R. G. 2009. Phylogenetic relationships of fantails (Aves: Rhipiduridae). Zoologica Scripta. 38 (6): 553-561.
• Jonsson, K. A., Bowie, R. C. K., Moyle, R. G., Christidis, L., Norman, J. A., Benz, B. W., and Fjeldsa, J. 2009. Historical biogeography of an Indo-Pacific passerine bird family (Pachycephalidae): different colonization patterns in the Indonesian and Melanesian archipelagos. Journal of Biogeography. In Press.
• Boyd, R. L., Nyári, Á. S., Benz, B. W., and Chen, G. 2008. Aves, province of Guizhou, China. Check List 4(2):107-114.
• Peterson, A.T., Benz, B.W., Papes, M. 2007. Entry pathways for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza into North America via bird migration. PLoS ONE 2(2): e261. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000261.
• Pramuk, J.B., M.J. Grose, A.L. Clarke, E. Greenbaum, E. Bonaccorso, J.M. Guayasamin, A.H. Smith-Pardo, B.W. Benz, B.R. Harris, E. Siegfreid, Y.R. Reid, N. Holcroft-Benson, and E.O. Wiley. 2007. Phylogeny of finescale shiners of the genus Lythrurus (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) inferred from four mitochondrial genes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 42: 247-297.
• Benz, B.W., M.B. Robbins, A.T. Peterson. 2006. Evolutionary history of woodpeckers and allies (Aves: Picidae): Placing key taxa on the phylogenetic tree. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 40: 389-399.
• Benz, B.W., C.E. Martin. 2006. Foliar trichomes, boundary layers, and gas exchange in 12 species of epiphytic Tillandsia (Bromeliaceae). Journal of Plant Physiology 163: 648-656.

Recent Presentations:

• Benz, B. W.  2009. Phylogeography, courtship ethology, and species limits in the Macgregor’s Bowerbird Complex (Ptilonorhynchidae: Amblyornis macgregoriae); National meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union, Philadelphia, PA, August
• Benz, B.W. and M.B. Robbins. 2007. Molecular phylogenetics and species limits in celeus woodpeckers (Aves: Picidae); National meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union, Laramie, WY, August. (Poster).
• Benz, B.W., M.B. Robbins, and A.T. Peterson. 2005. Molecular phylogenetics and historical biogeography of the piculets (Picumninae: Picidae); National meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union, Santa Barbara, CA, August.

Email: scheetah@ku.edu

Advisors: Helen Alexander and John Kelly

Education: Current Ph.D. candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology; B.S. in biology from Calvin College, Honors.

Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI

Research Interests: Evolutionary ecology, mating systems, pollinator-plant interactions

Recent Publications:

• Eds. Bodbyl, S.A. and Roach, K. Laboratory Exercises. Johnson, Kelly. 2009. Pearson Custom Publishing, Pearson Education.
• Peterson, Townsend A., Anderson, M.J., Bodbyl-Roels, S.A., Hosner, P., Nyári, Árpád, Oliveros, C., and Monica Papeş. A Prototype Forecasting System for Spread of Bird-borne Diseases in North America. –Submitted to Epidemics.

Recent Presentations:

• Bodbyl-Roels, S.A. 2009. A prototype forecasting system for spread of bird-borne diseases in North America; American Ornithologists Union (AOU) conference, Philadelphia, PA, August. 
• Bodbyl-Roels, S.A. 2009.  Experimental evolution of mating system under varying pollinator availability in Mimulus guttatus; Evolution conference, Moscow, ID, June.
•  Bodbyl-Roels, S.A. 2009. Building Strength Enabling Environments (Helping Women Thru Danger Zones and Keeping Them in Science Careers); invited panelist at the Wakonse Conference for College Teaching, Shelby, MI, May.

Recent Awards:

• 2009. University of Kansas Botany Endowment Funds Summer Scholarships.  Mary Harkey Hall Award in Plant Biology.
• 2009. University of Kansas Botany Endowment Funds Summer Scholarships.  Florene B. Fratcher Botany Fellowship.
• 2009. American Ornithologist's Union. Marcia Brady Tucker Travel Award.
• 2008. Small Grants Program University of Kansas Field Station and Ecological Reserves. Effect of Seed Predation and Disturbance on Wild and Crop-Wild Sunflowers.
• 2008. University of Kansas Botany Endowment Funds. Mary Harkey Hall Award. Effect of Seed Predation and Disturbance on Wild and Crop-Wild Sunflowers.
• 2008. University of Kansas Botany Endowment Fund. Mary Harkey Hall Award. Experimental Evolution of Mating System under Varying Pollinator Availability in Mimulus guttatus.

Email: jjhays@ku.edu

Advisor: Kirsten Jensen

Education: Current Ph.D. aspirant in ecology and evolutionary biology; M.S. in biology from Sam Houston State University; B.S. in biology from Peru State College.

Hometown: Shubert, NE

Research Interests: Taxonomy and systematics of lecanicephalidean tapeworms parasitizing elasmobranchs primarily from the Indian and South Pacific Oceans. Interrelationships of the Lecanicephalidea.

Recent Publications:

• Hays, J.J., R.E. Clopton, T.J. Cook, and J.L. Cook. 2007. Revision of the genus Nubenocephalus and description of Nubenocephalus secundus n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Actinocephalidae) parasitizing adults of Argia sedula (Odonata: Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae) in the Primitive Texas Big Thicket, U.S.A. Comparative Parasitology 74(2): 286-293.
• Clopton, R.E. and J. J. Hays. 2006. Revision of the genus Protomagalhaensia and description of Protomagalhaensia wolfi n. comb. (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinida: Hirmocystidae) and Leidyana haasi n. comb. (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinida: Leidyanidae) parasitizing the Lobster Cockroach, Nauphoeta cinerea (Dictyoptera: Blaberidae). Comparative Parasitiology 73(2): 137-156.
• Hays, J.J., R.E. Clopton, D.F. Cappaert, and D.R. Smitley. 2004. Revision of the genus Stictospora and description of Stictospora villani, n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinida: Actinocephalidae) from larvae of the Japanese Beetle, Popillia japonica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), in Michigan. Journal of Parasitology 90(6): 1450-1456.

Recent Presentations:

• Cielocha, J.J. and K. Jensen. 2009. Towards the stabilization of the lecanicephalidean genus Cephalobothrium and its allies. Southwestern Association of Parasitologists, University of Oklahoma Biological Station, Oklahoma, U.S.A., April.
• Hays, J.J., T.J. Cook, and R.E. Clopton. 2008. A biogeographical study of gregarines parasitizing Argia spp; The American Society of Parasitologists, Arlington, TX, June.
• Hays, J.J., T.J. Cook, and R.E. Clopton. 2008. A biogeographical study of gregarines parasitizing Argia spp. in Texas; Southwestern Association of Parasitologists, University of Oklahoma Biological Station, Kingston, OK, April.
• Hays, J.J., T.J. Cook, and R.E. Clopton. 2008. Argia spp. and their gregarines in 6 biogeographical provinces of Texas; Texas Academy of Science, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, TX, March.
• Hays, J. J., T.J. Cook, and R.E. Clopton. 2007. Patterns of gregarine infection in Argia spp. across biogeographical provinces. American Society of Parasitologists; The First North American Congress of Parasitology, Mérida, Mexico, June.

Recent Awards:

• Alpha Omicron Phi Scholarship, Lawrence, Kansas, 2009, $1100.
• Honorable Mention-Best Student Paper Competition, Southwestern Association of Parasitologists, 2009.
• Ida H. Hyde Scholarship, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 2008, $2500

Email: andreac@ku.edu

Advisor: Daphne Fautin

Education: Current Ph.D. candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology; Grad. Cert. in environmental management from Griffith University; B.S. (Hons I) in marine biology from the University of Queensland.

Hometown: Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Previous employment:

• Research Assistant—Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville, QLD, Australia.
  http://www.mtq.qm.qld.gov.au/
• Research Assistant—Queensland Museum, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
  http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/

Research Interests: Taxonomy, systematics and phylogeny of Actiniaria (sea anemones), cnidarian biology and phylogeny, invertebrate zoology, marine biology, symbiosis

Dissertation Research: Character analysis of branched outgrowths and spherical defensive structures: implications for taxonomy and phylogeny of sea anemones

Publications:

• Fautin, D.G., Crowther, A.L., and Wallace, C.C. 2008. Sea anemones (Cnidaria; Anthozoa; Actiniaria) of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 54:35-64.
• Khan, R.N., Becker, J.H.A., Crowther, A.L., and Lawn, I.D. 2004. Spatial distribution of symbiotic shrimps (Periclimenes holthuisi, P. brevicarpalis, Thor amboinensis) on the sea anemone Stichodactyla haddoni. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 84:201-203.
• Khan, R.N., Becker, J.H.A., Crowther, A.L., and Lawn, I.D. (2003) Sea anemone host selection by the symbiotic saddled shrimp Periclimenes holthuisi. Marine and Freshwater Research. 54:653-656.

Popular articles:

• Crowther, A.L. and Wallace, C.C. (2005) Australia's Sea Anemones. Biologue (an ABRS Publication) 30:14-15.

Recent Presentations:

• Crowther, A.L. 2009. Indo-Pacific sea anemones possessing branched outgrowths: how many species?  141st Annual Meeting of the Kansas Academy of Science, Topeka, KS.  First place in PhD oral presentation section. March.
• Crowther, A.L. 2008. Taxonomic uncertainty in the sea anemone genus Lebrunia. Xth Young Systematists’ Forum, London, UK. December.
• Crowther, A.L.  2008.  Taxonomic uncertainty in the sea anemone genus Lebrunia. Panorama Presentation Series, The University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute. October.
• Crowther, A.L. 2008.  Sea anemones with elaborate outgrowths and spherical defensive structures. Panorama Presentation Series, The University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute. September.
• Crowther, A.L., M. Daly, and D.G. Fautin. 2008.  Sea anemones possessing branched outgrowths and spherical defensive structures. Assembling the Tree of Life: Cnidaria annual meeting, La Paz, Mexico. July.
• Crowther, A.L. 2008.  Shell-forming sea anemones from Australia. The Biological Sciences Alumni Advisory Board Spring Research Symposium. The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. April. [poster]
• Crowther, A.L.  2008.  A symbiotic relationship between a sea anemone Bunodeopsis? and the crab Lybia.  Sigma Xi Research Paper Competition, the University of Kansas. April.
• Crowther, A.L., Fautin, D.G., and Daly, M. 2008. Systematic position of Thalassianthidae among sea anemones using mitochondrial and nuclear genes; Annual meeting of the Society of Comparative and Integrative Biology, San Antonio, TX, January.
• Crowther, A.L. and Fautin, D.G. 2008. Shell-forming sea anemones from Australia; Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX, January. (Poster)
• Crowther, A.L. 2008. A symbiotic relationship between a sea anemone Bunodeopsis? and the crab Lybia; Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Student Research Paper Competition, University of Kansas Chapter, Lawrence, KS, April.
• Crowther, A.L. 2007. A symbiotic relationship between a sea anemone Bunodeopsis? and the crab Lybia; The University of Kansas Natural History Museum Graduate Student Organization Retreat, Lawrence, KS, November.
• Crowther, A.L. 2007. A new species of shell-forming sea anemone from Australia; Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Student Research Paper Competition, University of Kansas Chapter, Lawrence, KS, March. Third place in early graduate student division.

Recent Awards:

• Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystem Program, Smithsonian Institution, Summer 2009, $1250.
• Kansas Academy of Science Student Presentation Award, Spring 2009, $300.
• Kansas Academy of Science Student Research Grant, Fall 2008, $1000.
• AMNH Lerner Gray Fund for Marine Research, Spring 2008, $1250.
• Smithsonian short-term visitor scholarship, 2008, $1875.
• The University of Kansas Women's Club Scholarship. 2008-2009, $1250.
• Panorama Small Grant Program, The University of Kansas Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, Spring 2008, $950.
• Travel Grant, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Kansas, Spring 2008, $300.
• Panorama Small Grant Program, The University of Kansas Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, Spring 2007, $850.
• Travel Grant, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Kansas, Spring 2007, $200.
• Friday Harbor Laboratories Financial Aid to attend Comparative Embryology course, The University of Washington, Summer 2007, $1200.
• Ida Hyde Scholarship, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Kansas, Fall 2006, $3000.

Email: steved@ku.edu

Advisor: Michael Engel

Education: Current Ph.D. aspirant in entomology; M.A. in entomology from the University of Kansas; B.S. in entomology from the University of Maryland.

Hometown: Gaithersburg, MD

Research Interests: Phylogenetics of Curculionoidea, systematics of baridine weevils, fossil weevils, and evolutionary development of the weevil rostrum.

Recent Publications:

• Davis, S. R. and Davis, D. R. 2009. Neotropical Tineidae VIII: Falsivalva, a new genus of Tineidae from Austral South America with extreme modification of the male post-abdominal    terga (Lepidoptera: Tineoidea).  Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 111 (2): 378-392.
• Davis. S. R. 2009. Morphology of Baridinae and related groups (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Zookeys 10: 1-136.
• Davis, S. R. and Engel, M. S. 2009. An Orthognathine weevil of the genus Mesocordylus in Dominican Amber (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea: Dryophthoridae). Beiträge zur Entomologie 59: 233-238.
• Davis, S., Gentili-Poole, P., and Mitter, C. 2008. A revision of the Cossulinae of Costa Rica and cladistic analysis of the world species (Lepidoptera: Cossidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 154: 222-277.
• Davis, S.R. and Engel, M.S. 2007. A new ambrosia beetle in Miocene amber of the Dominican Republic (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Platypodinae). Alavesia 1: 121-124.
• Davis, S.R. 2007. Wing locking mechanisms in the weevil subfamily Baridine (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Entomological Research 37(suppl. 1): A103.
• Omar, Y.M., Zhang, R., and Davis, S.R. 2007. On the genus Stereoborus Wollaston (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cossoninae) with description of a new species from China. The Coleopterist's Bulletin 61(2): 200-207.

Recent Presentations:

• Davis, S.R. 2009. Evolution of baridine weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Baridinae). Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. 9 June. Invited oral paper.
• Davis, S.R. 2008. Evolution of horny weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Baridinae). Entomological Society of America annual meeting, Reno, Nevada. 17 November. Oral paper.
• Davis, S.R. 2007. Phylogeny of Baridinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America; San Diego, CA, December.
• Davis, S.R. 2007. Wing locking mechanisms in the weevil subfamily Baridinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae); Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, San Diego, CA, December. (Poster)
• Davis, S.R. 2007. Weevil diversity in Miocene Dominican amber: A preliminary overview (Coleoptera: Curculionidae); Annual meeting of the Central States Entomological Society, Emporia, KS, April.

Recent Awards:

• NSF East Asia-Pacific Summer Institutes fellowship, 2009
• Foreign Language Area Scholarship (Japanese), 2009-2010
• Foreign Language Area Scholarship, 2007–08

Email: weash@ku.edu

Advisor: Daphne Fautin

Education: Current M.A. student in ecology and evolutionary biology; B.S. in marine biology from the University of West Florida.

Hometown: Dunedin, FL

Research Interests: Taxonomy and systematics of deep-sea Actiniaria (sea anemones), invertebrate zoology, marine biology

Recent Presentations:

• Eash-Loucks, W.E. 2009. A new species of ptychodactiarian sea anemone from the Aleutian Islands. Sigma Xi Student Research Paper Competition, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. 2nd place.
• Eash-Loucks, W.E.; Fautin, D.G.; Jewett, S.C. 2009. A new species of ptychodactiarian sea anemone from the Aleutian Islands. 141st Kansas Academy of Science meeting, Washburn University, Topeka, KS. 2nd place masters level oral presentation.
• Eash, W.E. 2007. Effects of Salinity on Thermal Tolerance of Atlantic Stingray, Dasyatis sabina. SEASTARS, University of West Florida College of Arts and Sciences, Pensacola, FL.

Recent Awards:

• Panorama Small Grant Program, University of Kansas Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, Spring 2009, $300.
• Travel Grant, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Spring 2009, $300.
• Undergraduate Research Grant, University of West Florida, Spring 2006, $1,000.

Advisor: Andrew Short

Education: Current Ph.D. aspirant in entomology; B.S. in entomology from Cornell University

Hometown: Tokyo, Japan

Research Interests: Systematics, evolution, and behavior of the beetle family Staphylinidae

Recent Presentations:

• 2007. Eldredge. K.T. Revision of the genus Hapalaraea (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae). Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America. San Diego, California, USA, December.

Awards:

• 2007. Department of Entomology, Cornell University. Support to attend the Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, San Diego, California, USA ($250)
• 2009. University of Kansas Diversity Fellowship ($20,000)

Email: esselsty@ku.edu

Website: http://www.people.ku.edu/~esselsty

Advisors: Rafe Brown and Robert Timm

Education: Current Ph.D. candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology; B.S. in wildlife science from Oregon State University.

Research Interests: Biogeography and systematics of southeast Asian mammals

Recent Publications:

• Esselstyn, J. A., R. M. Timm & R. M. Brown. 2009. Do geological or climatic processes drive speciation in dynamic archipelagos? The tempo and mode of diversification in SE Asian shrews. Evolution. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00743.x.
• Esselstyn, J. A. & R. M. Brown. 2009. The role of repeated sea-level fluctuations in the generation of shrew (Soricidae: Crocidura) diversity in the Philippine Archipelago. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 53:171–181.
• Esselstyn, J.A., H.J.D. Garcia, M.V. Saulog, and L.R. Heaney. 2008. A new species of Desmalopex (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) from Mindoro Island, Philippines, with a phylogenetic analysis of Pteropodine genera. Journal of Mammalogy 89: 815-825.
• Esselstyn, J.A. 2007. A new species of stripe-faced fruit bat (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae: Styloctenium) from the Philippines. Journal of Mammalogy 88: 951-958.
• Esselstyn, J.A. 2007. Should universal guidelines be applied to taxonomic research? Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 90: 761-764.
• Esselstyn, J. A., A. Amar, & D. Janeke. 2006. Impact of post-typhoon hunting on Mariana fruit bats (Pteropus mariannus). Pacific Science 60:531–539.
• Esselstyn, J. A., P. Widmann, & L. R. Heaney. 2004. The mammals of Palawan Island, Philippines. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 117:271-302.
• Esselstyn, J. A., G. J. Wiles, & A. Amar. 2004. Habitat use of the Pacific sheath-tailed bat (Emballonura semicaudata). Acta Chiropterologica 6:303-308.

Recent Presentations:

• Esselstyn, J.A. 2008. Is density-dependent diversification the norm in island archipelagos; University of Kansas Biodiversity Research Center, Seminar Series, Lawrence, KS, September.
• Esselstyn, J.A. 2008. A multilocus perspective on the history of shrew diversification in the islands of SE Asia; Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists, Brookings, SD, June.
• Esselstyn, J.A. 2008. Evolutionary history of shrews on SE Asian islands, Invited Seminar, Avila University, Kansas City, MO, March.
• Esselstyn, J.A. 2008. Phylogeny and historical biogeography of shrews in SE Asia, University of Kansas Biodiversity Research Center, Seminar Series, Lawrence, KS, February.
• Esselstyn, J.A. 2007. Molecular phylogenetics of Philippine white-toothed shrews; Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists, Albuquerque, NM, June.

Recent Awards:

• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, 2005-2008
• American Society of Mammalogists Fellowship, 2008-2009

Email: bfinch@ku.edu

Advisor: Helen Alexander

Education: Current master's student in ecology and evolutionary biology; B.A. in biology from the University of Kansas; B.A. in education from the University of Missouri—Kansas City; B.A. in history from the University of Louisville.

Research Interests: Plant population ecology

Recent Publications:

• Alexander, H.M., S. Price, R. Houser, D. Finch, and M. Tourtellot. 2007. Is there reduction in disease and predispersal seed predation at the border of a host plant's range?—field and herbarium studies of Carex blanda. Journal of Ecology 95: 446–457.

Recent Presentations:

• Finch, D. D. and H. M. Alexander. 2007. An experimental study of ecotones: The effect of habitat on the population biology of Carex blanda; Ecological Society of America meetings, San Jose, CA, August.
• Finch, D. D. and H. M. Alexander. 2006. Spatial patterns of infection of two plant pathogens with different transmission modes; Ecological Society of America meetings, Memphis, TN, August.

Advisor: Linda Trueb

Education: Current Ph.D. aspirant in ecology and evolutionary biology; B.S. in biology from the University of San Francisco

Hometown: Forest Grove, OR

Research Interests: Systematics, phylogenetics, and biogeography of Southeast Asian amphibians and reptiles

Recent Presentations:

• Fuiten, A. 2008. Four new Amolops species from Myanmar, Poster, Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Montreal, Canada, July.

Awards:

• Biology Department Grant-in-Aid for Student Research and Travel, University of San Francisco, 2008.
• Valedictorian Finalist, University of San Francisco, 2008.
• Robert Bellarmine Award for Academic Excellence, St. Ignatius Institute, University of San Francisco, 2008.